2018 State Review Panel Progress Monitoring Recommendation Form
School/code & District/code:

Adams City High School/0024 & Adams County 14/0030

State Review Panelists:

Biaze Houston, Starla Pearson, Nancy Sanger, Johan Van Nieuwenhuizen

Recommendation Meeting Date:

October 11, 2018

Current State-directed Action: The State Board concluded that the revised management proposal of the district,
which meets the department’s rubric and is consistent with the recommendation of the Commissioner, is a
statutorily-authorized accountability pathway pursuant to §22-11-209(2)(a), C.R.S.
Panel’s 2018 Recommendation:
The State Review Panel recommends management by another private or public entity other than the district for
Adams City High School, in addition to the external management partnership currently in place, based on an
analysis of compiled data and documentation, as well as a site visit conducted September 24th and 25th, 2018.
Evidence and Rationale:
The State Review Panel recommends continuing and expanding the relationship with Beyond Textbooks and adding
a management partner by a private or public entity other than the district. The Beyond Textbooks (BT) partnership
has the potential to positively impact efforts to improve instructional outcomes for students. Prior to the partnership,
there was no building-wide implementation of curriculum and assessments aligned to standards. Now, teachers are
planning for, and delivering, standards-aligned instructional resources as a result of the BT partnership. However, this
partnership does not address all critical matters at Adams City High School (ACHS). In addition, because BT does not
serve as an oversight entity, there is a need for an additional management partner to ensure effective structures are
established for accountability and decision-making authority.
There is apparent readiness by Adams City High School (ACHS) to engage productively with, and benefit from, the
partnership with BT. However, the stipulations of the management agreement impede the school’s ability to fully
engage the partnership, limiting the scope. BT was contracted to serve as an external management partner to support
ACHS, as directed in the summer of 2017 by the State Board of Education, to provide a comprehensive program of
curriculum development, instructional improvement, student assessment, and multi-level interventions. This support,
in present form, is only provided to support 9th and 10th grade in math and English language arts (ELA). There is a
need to expand the partnership across the school to support all grade levels and content areas in order to support all
grade levels in standards-aligned instruction, learning, and assessment. Moreover, the State Board acknowledged a
concern regarding the lack of plan for how ACHS would address the needs of 11th and 12th grades. When the school
addressed this concern, BT was not part of the approach to support 11th and 12th grades. It is stated in the Pathways
Proposal that the areas of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and enrichment and re-teach will be addressed by the
district’s turnaround strategy and not through the BT partnerships.
Additionally, BT only serves in a consultation capacity. BT provides assessment resources, support with alignment of
instructional materials, facilitation of professional learning to onboard staff to BT resources and supports and
facilitated site visits and debrief sessions to provide recommendations to the school and district for next steps. While
BT is fulfilling the contractual agreements of their partnership with ACHS, actions do not represent the intended
purpose of an external manager, which includes oversight and decision-making authority. BT explicitly stated that its
intent was not to serve in an oversight capacity, but to work alongside the school as a partner.

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Recommendation Form - 1

 ACHS needs an external partner that will provide leadership development and support, coaching, ongoing
professional development, and talent management, in addition to increasing the instructional support BT is providing.
Currently, there is no structure to support the development of leadership capacity to effectively lead the turnaround
work at ACHS. The ACHS principal is in her second year and tenure at this school is her first principalship. While the
principal and one assistant principal currently participate in the RELAY Principal Academy and in regular meetings with
the district BT coordinator and the school’s leadership to discuss implementation, there is not a strategic focus by BT
to develop leadership capacity for actions needed to effectively implement BT. The school requires a partnership that
will provide strategic support to the school’s leadership to ensure effective oversight and implementation of change
efforts.
It would be a greater risk than benefit to ACHS to abandon BT at this time. Staff frequently referenced the continuous
change as making the work difficult. Therefore, to dissolve the partnership with BT at this time would not be
supportive of the school’s efforts toward improvement. Prior to BT, teachers were creating their own curriculum.
BT has alleviated the need for teacher-created materials by providing a clearer trajectory of learning in alignment to
grade level standards. However, BT must be a systemic approach and not isolated to 9th and 10th grade in only ELA
and math. Furthermore, ACHS needs to begin focusing on not just the “what” that BT provides, but “how” to
effectively plan and deliver instruction that supports engagement and critical thinking.
ACHS is bound by the union contract, which presents challenges particularly in relation to professional development
and talent management. The school cannot ensure that teachers are adequately supported and trained. They have
one half-day release a month only and must offer “optional” professional learning options for teachers, resulting in
some teachers being minimally developed around the school’s priorities. The school believes they have mitigated this
issue and are currently requiring PLC meetings three times a week; however, these meetings are serving as planning
meetings and the time is not being capitalized to accelerate learning. Opportunities to use Professional Learning
Communities (PLCs) time to provide professional learning has been minimal. ACHS needs consistent, ongoing, and
required time for professional learning for their staff to ensure they are equipped with the tools and skills needed to
effectively execute the instructional program. Also, there has been significant administrative and staff turnover at the
school. There is a need for support in talent management to provide flexibility in the hiring and transitioning of staff in
addition to explicit support around recruitment and retention.
In addition to the partnership with BT, there is a need for external management with a partner that is willing to take
on the decision-making authority needed to ensure that there is effective oversight, clear roles and responsibilities,
professional learning and supports, progress monitoring, and accountability for strategies and practices needed to
lead the change efforts at ACHS that the district currently has been unable to support for more than seven years.
The State Review Panel does not recommend innovation school status. Innovation requires strong leadership and an
infrastructure that is adequate to implement change to improve results, of which ACHS is not currently positioned to
provide. As well, innovation was the original recommendation from the State Review Panel in Spring 2016 but the
State Board of Education decided that – due to a change in school and district leadership – innovation was not the
best route. The school’s current principal is inexperienced and has not yet developed the leadership capacity to
effectively implement an innovation plan. Innovation could provide opportunities for the school to petition for
waivers that would alleviate some of the constraints the teacher contract currently poses around how administration
can direct teacher time and hiring practices and preferences. There is minimal evidence, however, to indicate that the
school has a readiness for innovative approaches or practices that would result in benefits that the potential waivers
could provide. Furthermore, innovation requires a culture of trust between the district leadership and school that
does not yet exist.
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Recommendation Form - 2

 The State Review Panel does not recommend conversion to a charter school. There is limited support for this from
the district and the community because ACHS is the only comprehensive high school in the district. By converting
ACHS to a charter, students and their families would not be provided with school choice options, which is the intent of
a charter. Rather, students would be forced to attend a charter school if they were not able to feasibly consider other
schooling options outside of the district. While the panel does not recommend conversion to charter, the team
discussed how conversion to a charter would bring the school many of the things that the team is recommending a
management partner provide. Some examples include an opportunity to expand learning time, flexibility with
scheduling, fewer hiring constraints, the ability to build/rebuild the school’s infrastructure to better support teaching
and learning, as well as autonomy from the union and district mandates that impede turnaround efforts.
The State Review Panel does not recommend closure. ACHS is the only comprehensive high school in the district and
there is not another school for Adams 14 students to attend. There are other districts with comprehensive high
schools that are within an eight-mile radius, but it is not clear that there is capacity to support the students of ACHS.
As well, there would be interest conflicts posed regarding taxes and local funding transfer. ACHS students also
indicated they would not choose another school if given the option. While students stated they do not like some
things about their school, students felt that attending ACHS was part of the history of their families and community.
The students indicated a desire to stay at ACHS; they just want ACHS to be a school that better serves their needs.

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Recommendation Form - 3

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
Purpose: The State Review Panel (SRP, or the Panel) was created by the Accountability Act of 2009 to provide a critical evaluation of the State’s lowestperforming schools’ and districts’ plans for dramatic action and provide recommendations to the Commissioner and the State Board of Education. The
Panel’s work is informed by a review of documents (e.g., Unified Improvement Plan) and, in some cases, by a site visit. The site visit component was added
in 2013 to strengthen panelists’ understanding of the conditions in the schools and districts that are further along on the accountability clock. The
expectation is that the site visit will inform their recommendations to the Commissioner and the State Board of Education about potential actions at the
end of the accountability clock. For schools and districts that continue to remain on the accountability clock, the SRP will conduct an additional progress
monitoring site visit that will be used to assess the actions the school or district was previously directed to take, the fidelity to which the school has
implemented directed actions, and the amount of time the school has had to implement the actions to achieve results. The expectation is that the site visit
will inform their recommendations to the Commissioner and the State Board of Education about potential actions at the end of the accountability clock.
Prior to arriving on site, panelists conducted a document review aligned to the six key areas in the Accountability Act. On site at the school, the site visit
team used evidence collected through classroom observations, focus groups, interviews, and document review to come to consensus on capacity levels in
relation to the six key areas. This report presents the school’s/district’s capacity levels in relation to the six key areas and a summary of evidence for each.
Reviewer Name(s): Biaze Houston, Starla Pearson, Nancy Sanger, Johan Van Nieuwenhuizen

Date: September 18, 2018

District Name/Code: Adams County 14/0030

School Name/Code: Adams City High School/0024

Capacity
Level:

SRP Progress Monitoring Site Visit Summary
1. The leadership is adequate to implement change to improve results.

Developing

2. The infrastructure is adequate to support school improvement.

Developing

3. There is readiness and apparent capacity of personnel to plan effectively and lead the implementation of appropriate action to improve
student academic performance.

Developing

4. There is readiness and apparent capacity to engage productively with, and benefit from, the assistance provided by an external partner.

Developing

5. There is likelihood of positive returns on State investments of assistance and support to improve the performance within the current
management structure and staffing.

Developing

6. There is necessity that the school remain in operation to serve students.

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Yes

Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 1

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
SRP Evaluation based on Progress Monitoring Site Visit
State Review Panel Criteria
1. The leadership is adequate to implement change to improve results.
1.1: Leadership acts as a
change agent to drive
dramatic achievement
gains.

•
•

•
•

1.2: Leadership establishes
clear, targeted and
measurable goals designed
to promote student
performance.

•
•
•
•
•

1.3: Leadership analyzes
data to identify and address
high priority challenges,
and to adjust
implementation of the
action plan.

Leadership communicates a relentless commitment to the
school turnaround.
Leadership makes data-driven changes to the academic
program and organization to promote dramatic achievement
gains.
Leadership conveys clear expectations for performance for
all stakeholders, including leadership, teachers, students,
and partners.
School leaders distribute leadership responsibilities to
appropriate individuals or groups.
Leadership communicates clear and focused goals that are
understood by all staff.
Educators understand their responsibilities for achieving
goals.
Leadership maintains school-wide focus on achieving
established goals.
Leadership allocates resources in alignment with goals and
critical needs.
Leadership has established systems to measure and report
interim results toward goals.

• Leadership communicates data trends and issues, ensures
timely access to data, and models and facilitates data use.
• Leadership openly shares results and holds staff accountable
for results and effective use of data.
• Leadership first concentrates on a limited number of
priorities to achieve early, visible wins.
• There is regular progress monitoring of performance and
implementation data and, as appropriate, results lead to
elimination of tactics that do not work.
• Benchmarks are used to assess progress toward goals; goals
are adjusted as progress is made.
• Data on progress toward goals drives organizational and
instructional decision making.

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Claims & Evidence
Capacity Level:

[ ] Highly Effective [ ] Effective [ X ] Developing [ ] Not Effective

School leadership is beginning to act as a change agent to drive
dramatic achievement gains.
●

According to district leaders and school leaders, leadership changed
with a new principal and four new assistant principals (APs) last
year with two of those APs replaced by two new APs this year.
The district reported making a strategic decision to change the
leadership at Adams City High School (ACHS). Teachers reported
having five different principals in the last five years prior to the
start of the current principal who is now in the second year of her
tenure.

●

The school leadership has defined last year as “year zero” and this
year as “year one” as a way to reset based on capacity levels to
implement new systems and structures. For example, in “year
zero,” the principal reported not having enough of the
administrative and support staff to implement the current model of
distributed leadership responsibilities that includes 5 APs who each
serve over a grade level and specific content and program areas,
and deans and counselors at each grade level, along with three
instructional coaches who are assigned to PLCs. Further, school
leadership described “year zero” as not having professional
development (PD) to differentiate for content and language
support for English Language Learner (ELL) students. The series of
changes that year overwhelmed teachers. This year, however,
teachers knew what to expect coming into the school year.

Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 2

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
1.4: Leadership establishes
high expectations for
student learning and
behavior.

• The school holds high expectations for academic learning.
• Educators set high expectations for learning and clearly
convey these to students.
• Educators convey that students are responsible for raising
their performance and encourage their participation in
learning.
• The school provides a safe environment to support students’
learning and, in the case of a virtual school, ensures that
students’ interactions between and among themselves and
school staff are respectful and supportive.
• Leadership ensures that the school’s physical environment is
clean, orderly, and safe.

●

The external partner reported that the Beyond Textbook (BT)
district liaison occasionally supports Professional Learning
Communities (PLCs) based on requests from school leaders
and/or teachers.

●

School leadership and instructional coaches reported that they rely
on instructional coaches to provide feedback about progress of
PLCs and teachers, as well as needs for next steps. Further, school
leadership reported that instructional coaches are primarily
responsible for supporting PLCs and that the principal and APs
neither attend nor participate in the PLC work.

●

Teachers and students were unable to clearly and consistently
articulate leaderships’ expectations for performance. Some
teachers referred to the expectation for Content Learning
Objectives (CLOs), Agendas, and Exit Criteria to be posted in the
classroom. As well, some teachers referenced PLC participation
and the development of six-week unit plans. Some teachers and
students also referred to the goal of getting students to college.
However, among teachers, these were not consistently reported
expectations for performance.

Leadership analyzes data to establish measurable goals; however,
those goals have not been clearly articulated or monitored.
●

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School leadership was able to identify the school’s priorities as
being the trend of fives: Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores of
500, ACCESS scores of 5, Advanced Placement (AP) exam scores of
5, and attending classes 5 days a week. However, teachers, school
partners, and community groups were unable to consistently
explain the school’s expectations and goals for improved school
performance. Most stakeholders generally referenced the goals of

Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 3

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
helping students graduate, go to college, and improving
attendance.

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●

School leadership stated that within the two years in which the
new principal has been at the school, she has involved teachers in
developing the mission and vision of the school. A facilitator was
brought to the school to help school staff craft a vision and mission.
The school staff that participated included 18-to-20 teachers who
served as department chairs. School leadership indicated, however,
that only 3-to-4 of the teachers who participated in this work are
still employed at the school.

●

School leadership indicated that goals were communicated during
beginning-of-the-year professional development and in the WeekAt-A-Glance (WAAG) communication sent out to school staff by
the principal. As well, school leaders indicated that they are very
familiar with the school goals; most referenced the college
readiness and attendance goals stated above. Some articulated a
goal to improve the academic culture of the school; however, this
was not specifically reported by all groups.

●

School leadership indicated that their Instructional Leadership
Team (ILT), consisting of department chairs, met at the beginning of
the year to review data and analyze targets that were not met.
Additionally, school leadership and documents reviewed indicated
that some teachers spent time analyzing the School Performance
Framework reports to identify challenges and possible root causes.

●

Some teachers reported that some data sources are reviewed,
such as Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) data and exit
ticket data. Some teachers reported using exit ticket data to inform
the next day’s instruction or to have students self-assess
understandings. However, teachers did not report a consistent
purpose for use of the exit tickets, nor did the site visit team
Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 4

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
consistently observe teachers implementing the use of exit tickets
at the end of class.

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●

School leadership and teachers indicated that professional growth
plan goals are developed for the entire staff and include goals
around aggressive monitoring and CLOs and that the focus on CLOs
is a continuation from last school year.

●

Instructional support staff reported that some teachers in some
PLCs are reviewing data, that instructional support staff is starting
to teach teachers to create instructional groups using STAR data
and reported one PLC that gives common assessments each week
and works together to score the assessment.

●

BT provided a documented entitled, Adams City High School
Beyond Textbooks Feedback which indicated that the school’s areas
of concern include the following: deepening understandings of the
difference between activity and learning objectives; increasing the
level of rigor (BT noted there were improvements compared to last
year); addressing the lack of urgency with instructional time and
engaging bell-to-bell learning; improving Reteach/Enrich time and
not using it as simply homework help; reducing time spent on
students doing activities and identifying “early finisher” tasks;
engaging questioning strategies at higher levels that engage all
students, rather than being answered by the teacher; and,
engaging all students during instruction and not allowing students
to opt out. BT-related internal and external staff did indicate,
however, that the school has been responsive to feedback they
have received from site visits.

Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 5

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
Leadership is beginning to establish high expectations for student
learning and behavior.

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●

Teachers reported that students are not being held accountable for
behaviors. For example, there are no consequences for students
when they are tardy or absent from class. Further, deans reported
various iterations of attendance and tardy interventions this school
year. For example, initially deans issued tardy slips to students in
the hallway as their pass to class; they had to recently abandon the
practice because it was too time-intensive. Instead, they expect
teachers to mark students tardy. The site visit team did not observe
teachers marking tardy students. Deans stated that tardy students
serve a detention at lunch, during a study period, or after school
during which they engage in college-ready activities; however,
teachers reported that they knew of no students who had served
a detention for tardiness.

●

As well, staff reported there is minimal communication to indicate
what actions have been taken to address student misbehaviors
after students have been referred to the office by teachers for
administrative intervention and support. Deans indicated that due
to the large number of students, they are more focused on assisting
teachers with classroom practices and responses that keep
students in school and class.

●

Site visit team observations indicated an atmosphere in which
interactions did not demonstrate a strong sense of community. For
example, students were observed bumping into each other in the
hallway without acknowledgement and using profane gestures and
language toward each other. In addition, there were several
observed instances where redirections given to students by school
staff were ignored.
Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 6

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19

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●

School leadership, teachers, and students indicated that there are
specific expectations for students in the classroom. For example,
there is a no-cell phone and no-headphones policy. Additionally,
the site visit team observed evidence of the reinforcement of these
expectations through signs posted around the school and in
classrooms. Parents, however, indicated they would like for the
school to be consistent in their implementation of this policy.

●

School staff reported that prior to BT, school resources were not
grade-level appropriate. Also, there were varying opinions among
staff about what types of texts or instructional resources should be
used to support both grade-level content and needs for students
not yet at grade level.

●

Students reported that they did not believe school staff had
confidence in their academic abilities and that teachers did not
always follow through in addressing misbehaviors that disrupted
the learning environment.

●

School staff reported that the staff of ACHS believe in their
students, their potential, and have a desire to see them succeed;
however, some staff referred to factors beyond their control that
negatively impact how well students could be fully engaged in
school, including attendance, home/life circumstances, and
behaviors in which students are not held accountable.

●

The community group reported feeling that ACHS is a safe place for
their students.

●

Students indicated that the school is a safe place; however, they
had safety concerns and indicated that it would not be difficult for
a catastrophic event to take place. Additionally, they believe that
campus security should be provided additional training on how to
positively engage with students.
Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 7

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
●

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Teachers also reported observing interactions between
administration and students as only occurring when there is a
behavior-related need. Teachers reported that students would feel
more supported by the administration if more positive interactions
between administration and students took place, rather than those
interactions just occurring when a student is being redirected for
negative behavior.

Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 8

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
SRP Evaluation based on Progress Monitoring Site Visit
State Review Panel Criteria
2. The infrastructure is adequate to support school improvement.
2.1: The district leads
intentional, strategic efforts
to ensure the effectiveness
of the academic program
and the sustainability of the
organization.

2.2: School leadership has a
strong focus on recruiting
and retaining talent;
creates and implements
systems to select, develop,
and retain effective
teachers and staff who can
drive dramatic student
gains; evaluates all staff;
and dismisses those who do
not meet professional
standards and
expectations.

• The district/superintendent ensures ongoing leadership
development for emerging and current school leaders with
a focus on building leadership capacity to lead turnaround
efforts and sustain improvement.
• The district/superintendent provides adequate oversight
of schools’ work to deliver the curriculum, monitors
instruction on a regular basis, and provides adequate
support and feedback to principals to improve instruction.
• The district provides adequate systems by which to capture
and store data, report it to schools, and make it accessible
for instructional staff to utilize.
• Leadership has created and/or implemented an
organizational and staffing structure that will drive
dramatic student gains.
• Leadership recruits and hires teachers with commitment to,
and competence in, the school’s philosophy, design, and
instructional framework (e.g., trained and experienced with
curriculum, certified/licensed to teach, qualified to teach
subject area).
• Trained mentors provide beginning teachers with
sustained, job-embedded induction.
• Leadership ensures the evaluation of all staff and dismisses
those who do not meet standards and expectations.
• Leadership provides teachers with active, intense, and
sustained professional development (PD), including
guidance on data analysis and instructional practice,
aligned to school improvement efforts.
o PD is informed by ongoing analysis of student
performance, instructional data, and educators’ learning
needs.
o PD requires teachers to demonstrate their learned
competency in a tangible and assessable way.
o PD engages teachers in active learning (e.g., leading
instruction, discussing with colleagues, observing
others, developing assessments), and provides followup sessions and ongoing support for teachers’
continued learning.

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Claims & Evidence
Capacity Level:

[ ] Highly Effective [ ] Effective [ X ] Developing [ ] Not Effective

The district provides resources to support strategic efforts toward
effectiveness of the academic program.
●

BT indicated that they do not serve as an external management
entity. When the agreement was made, they declined oversight
responsibilities and stated that they preferred to work side-by-side
with district staff. They indicated that they provide resources,
professional learning, and observations with feedback that includes
recommendations to the school and district. BT does not, however,
monitor whether the school is implementing the feedback and
leaves the responsibility of oversight to the school and district.

●

District leadership reported that a BT coordinator was hired this
year and that district leaders conduct weekly walkthroughs at each
school using a common observation tool. Further, school leaders,
district leaders, and BT staff reported that BT representatives
conduct observations six times throughout the year. The day
following a site visit, BT provides feedback to site administrators
on strengths and areas of concern and give their top five
recommendations to the school. The BT group then engages
a separate session with district leadership and provides holistic
district data on trends across the district.

●

District leadership reported that district staff conduct observations
of the school using a common tool; these data are used among
district leaders but are not systemically shared with school
leadership or teachers.

Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 9

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
2.3: School leadership
ensures that the school has
sound financial and
operational systems and
processes

•
•
•

•
•

2.4: School leadership
provides effective
instructional leadership.

•

•

•

o The quality of professional development delivery is
regularly monitored, evaluated, and improved.
School leadership ensures that the organizational structure
supports essential school functions, and that roles and
responsibilities of all individuals at the school are clear.
School leadership has established effective means of
communicating with school staff.
School leadership ensures that the school meets all
compliance requirements and deadlines set by the State,
including the submission of school improvement plans,
financial statements, school audit, calendar, and student
attendance.
School leadership effectively manages the school budget
and cash flow; there is a plan for long-term financial
sustainability.
The school leadership effectively manages operations
(e.g., food services, transportation, school facilities).
School leaders ensure that the school implements a
coherent, comprehensive, and aligned curriculum.
o School leaders ensure that curriculum, instruction, and
assessments are aligned with State standards, aligned
with each other, and coordinated both within and across
grade levels.
o School leaders ensure that instructional materials are
selected and/or developed in accordance with a schoolwide instructional framework and aligned with
established curriculum standards.
o School leaders ensure that the curriculum is periodically
reviewed and revisions are made accordingly.
School leaders provide meaningful feedback on teachers’
instructional planning and practice.
o Leaders regularly provide meaningful feedback on
instructional planning.
o Leaders regularly observe instruction and provide
meaningful, timely feedback that helps teachers improve
their practice.
School leaders provide conditions that support a schoolwide data culture.
o Teachers have easy access to varied, current, and
accurate student and instructional data.
o Teachers are provided time to collect, enter, analyze, and
represent student data and use tools to help act on
results.

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●

BT indicated that they provide opportunities to engage in
conversation with school leaders; however, they stated that they do
not provide explicit leadership development to support
implementation of BT practices, strategies, and resources.

●

District leadership indicated that the school’s principal and an
assistant principal are currently participants in the RELAY Graduate
School of Education Principal Manager program; district leadership
members have also been participants. The principal reported that
she and one of the APs are part of the RELAY cohort for this school
year that included two weeks of training over the summer and
ongoing training throughout the year.

●

District and school leadership indicated that the principal coach
visits ACHS three times a week. School leadership reported that it is
a structured meeting to discuss the progress made implementing
the improvement strategies. According to district and school
leadership, the superintendent and principal coach attend these
meetings.

●

District and school staff discussed Illuminate as being the current
district assessment platform. Instructional support staff indicated
that Illuminate is used to house data and is aligned to Colorado
Academic Standards (CAS). Teachers indicated that they can input
data into the platform, but it is not required.

●

School leadership and district leadership reported that the district
allocated additional sources of funding to support ACHS in hiring
interventionists for English language arts (ELA) and math.

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 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
o School leaders ensure that all teachers receive PD in data

2.5: The school provides
high-quality instruction.

use (e.g., how to access, read, and interpret a range of
data reports; frame questions for inquiry; analyze data,
assessment literacy, use data tools and resources).
• Classroom interactions and organization ensure a
classroom climate conducive to learning.
• Classroom instruction is intentional, engaging, and
challenging for all students.
• The school identifies and supports special education
students, English language learners, and students who are
struggling or at risk.

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School leadership attempts to hire and retain staff who can support
the achievement gains and professional standards needed, given the
current state of the school.
●

District and school leadership indicated that school leadership was
able to participate in recruitment activities with the district to
identify educators for vacancies.

●

District leadership, school leadership, teachers, and community
members indicated that turnover is a challenge for ACHS. School
and district leadership noted that, given the current initiatives and
direction in which the school is going, some staff members selfselected to leave the school. School leadership indicated that some
of the staff attrition from last year to the current school year was
strategic, with some staff being non-renewed.

●

District leadership indicated a high level of confidence in the current
school leadership team.

●

Teachers indicated that new teachers do not receive consistent
support and mentorship. Additionally, both new and experienced
teachers indicated that, when they are seeking support, they reach
out to their colleagues.

●

Teachers were unable to clearly define the PD in which they have
participated this year. BT discussed various opportunities for PD that
were provided in the first year of implementation. Last school year,
there were five BT PD trainings in addition to a full day Leadership
Team retreat that included the superintendent, principal, teacher
leaders, and district office staff. This year, teachers who were not
present last year for PD attended training at another school that
covered content covered in last year’s PD.

●

As a condition of the external management contract, the Pathways
Proposal states that BT will deliver PD. The BT group reported two
Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 11

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
key focus areas in need of PD – student engagement and reteach/
enrichment. Yet, the BT group was unable to clearly identify what
next steps would be taken to support these needs. Additionally,
district and BT leaders indicated that the only BT-provided PD
offered to ACHS thus far this year was for new teachers who missed
the introductory BT PD last year. The PD was hosted at a local
elementary school site.

© 2018 SchoolWorks, LLC. All rights reserved.

●

School leaders indicate that while the restructured schedule includes
time for PLCs to meet three times a week with an intention to
deliver PD during that time, there is not a clear plan for professional
learning. School leaders noted that originally, there was a plan to
conduct PLCs Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and to use some
Tuesdays and Thursdays to deliver PD to teachers. School leadership
states that this plan, however, has been difficult to implement; the
teacher contact calls for teachers to have one uninterrupted
planning period per day. On Tuesday and Thursday, the school uses
a block schedule that results in teachers having one plan time that
runs for 90 minutes versus the 54 minutes on the Monday,
Wednesday, Friday schedule. Even though the time for planning is
longer on Tuesday and Thursday, teachers have only one planning
period that cannot be administratively directed. As a result, the only
time for directed PD is within the once-a-month early release days.

●

A review of the ACHS PD schedule documents indicated some lack
of coherence in PD that is being offered during a designated time
outside of the school day. There are three strands of PD: one for
new teachers, one for PLC leaders, and one that is “opt-in” for
teachers. The PD for PLC leaders that is designed for new PLC leaders
includes a range of topics: evaluation; lesson planning; traumainformed care; progress monitoring and Constructing Meaning;
engagement strategies; project-based learning; and reflection.
Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 12

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
However, as it pertains to “opt-in” PD, there is more clear alignment
with overarching topics, such as Assessment Analysis and
Engagement strategies running throughout the year and subtopics
within each category that focus on more specific aspects of each
topic.
●

According to BT, results of the site visit did not indicate that PD is
evaluated for effectiveness. Further, teachers indicated that PD is
not differentiated to meet the needs of more experienced staff.

School leadership is beginning to provide instructional leadership.

© 2018 SchoolWorks, LLC. All rights reserved.

●

According to district and school leadership and BT staff, BT
curriculum is used to plan and deliver instruction and assessments
aligned to 9th and 10th grade math and ELA. Teachers, however,
report varying levels of fidelity to implementation of these
resources.

●

Some teachers indicated that they are observed by instructional
coaches and/or their assigned evaluator. However, some teachers
reported that they have not yet been observed or provided feedback
this school year. Further, coaches indicated that observations and
feedback are done based on a tiered system of teacher need.

●

Some teachers indicated that when they receive feedback, it is
either in person or by email.

●

Teachers reported that the feedback they receive on instructional
practices is not consistent. Some teachers reported that feedback is
aligned to the teacher evaluation, strengths, and next steps, or it is
based on whether students are complying with school behavior
expectations. Further, some teachers reported they receive
feedback on the format of their unit and lesson plans. They
indicated, however, that they do not receive feedback on the quality
of the lesson plan. There were inconsistencies in how teachers
Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 13

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
reported their fulfillment of the requirement to submit lesson plans;
some teachers reported that they do not consistently make them
available.
●

According to district leadership, ACHS is in beginning stages of
implementing the district level assessment and data platform of
Illuminate.

●

According to school and district staff, BT assessments are being used
to assess student mastery of the standards in 9th and 10th grade for
ELA and math.

●

District leadership indicated it is too early to determine progress for
this academic year based on academic data points; there is not yet
common assessment data available.

The school is not yet providing high-quality instruction.

© 2018 SchoolWorks, LLC. All rights reserved.

●

100% of ELA classrooms observed were rated ineffective or partially
ineffective as it pertained to Colorado Academic Standard (CAS)
alignment.

●

In 72% of classrooms observed, the site visit team noted that
behavioral expectations were implemented at an effective or
partially effective level. For example, students, when prompted,
were observed seated and following directions or redirects. There
were, however, several observations of students with their phones
out (a violation of school policy), of students sleeping and being
awakened, and of students being redirected when engaging in offtopic conversation.

●

In 81% of classrooms, the site visit team observed opportunities for
students to engage in, or demonstrate, higher-order thinking skills
rated as ineffective or partially ineffective. For example, most
questions posed by teachers focused on recall of facts and
information or were structured to allow only a few students
Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 14

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
opportunities to respond. There were, however, some observations
of teachers asking “why” questions for students to justify their
thinking.
●

© 2018 SchoolWorks, LLC. All rights reserved.

The site visit team observed ineffective or partially ineffective
implementation of assessment strategies in 81% of classrooms.
Several classrooms had explanations for the planned exit ticket
posted on the board. When the end of class was observed, however,
few instances of students completing the planned exit tickets prior
to class dismissal were observed.

Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 15

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
SRP Evaluation based on Progress Monitoring Site Visit
State Review Panel Criteria
3. There is readiness and apparent capacity of personnel to plan effectively and
lead the implementation of appropriate action to improve student academic
performance.
3.1: Educators’ mindsets
and beliefs reflect
shared commitments to
students’ learning.

3.2: The school has
established conditions
that support educators’
learning culture.

• Educators convey shared vision and values about teaching and
learning and reference these to guide their instructional
decision making.
• Educators convey a shared commitment to the learning of all
students in the school.
• Educators convey a belief that students’ learning is their
collective responsibility, regardless of students’ personal or
home situations.
• Educators convey that it is important not to give up on any
students, even if it appears that they do not want to learn.
• Educators convey commitment to, and hold each other
accountable for, collaboratively-established improvement
goals and tasks.
• Communications among all stakeholder groups are
constructive, supportive, and respectful.
• Communications between leadership and staff are fluid,
frequent, and open.
• School leaders model and convey well-defined beliefs about
teaching and learning, and convey value for innovation,
learning from mistakes, and risk taking.
• School leaders ensure that staff and team meeting discussions
are structured and facilitated to support the staff’s reflective
dialogue around data and instruction (e.g., attend to explicit
group norms, use protocols).
• School leaders provide guidance to teacher teams (e.g., help to
establish meeting routines; model and promote use of
discussion protocols; ensure systematic monitoring of student
progress; create focus on linking results to instruction) and
ensures that teachers utilize tools and time well.
• School leaders participate in formal and informal professional
learning, including their own leadership development about
how to improve curriculum and instruction in a leadership
context (i.e., elementary or secondary; high- or low-poverty;
large or small schools).

© 2018 SchoolWorks, LLC. All rights reserved.

Claims & Evidence
Capacity Level:

[ ] Highly Effective [ ] Effective [ X ] Developing [ ] Not Effective

The school is beginning to establish conditions that support a learning
culture; however, educators’ mindsets and beliefs do not reflect a
shared commitment to student learning.
●

Teachers indicated that they believe teachers have high expectations
for students; however, some reported that unproductive student
behavior impacts students’ ability to respond to those expectations.

●

Community members indicated that there are high expectations
exhibited by ACHS staff for students. For example, some parents
referenced the Reserve Officers’ Training Corp (ROTC) program as
instilling military values, having a stricter curriculum, and providing
support and guidance for students to make good decisions.

●

Students and community members indicated that there is a negative
perception about the school and community. In addition, there was
also a belief by students that school leadership does not believe
students are capable of high levels of achievement.

●

School partners indicated that the school exhibits high expectations
for students specifically around attendance and timeliness. Further,
the partners indicated that the school is demonstrating a
commitment to college and that post-secondary opportunities are
regularly a topic of discussion with students.

●

When teachers talked about school initiatives and goals, there were
several references to the goals and initiatives being owned by

Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 16

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
3.3: Educators
collaborate regularly to
learn about effective
instruction and students’
progress.

3.4: The school engages
the community and
families in support of
students’ learning school
improvement efforts.

• Educators meet frequently during regularly scheduled,
uninterrupted times (e.g., staff, department, grade level
meeting times) to collaborate, establish improvement goals,
and make data-informed instructional decisions.
• Educators‘ collaborative meetings have a clear and persistent
focus on improving student learning and achievement.
• Educators describe sharing knowledge and expertise among
colleagues as an essential collaborative activity for job success.
• Teachers are willing to talk about their own instructional
practice, to actively pursue and accept feedback from
colleagues, and to try new teaching strategies.
• The school has created a performance-driven classroom
culture in which teachers effectively use data to make
decisions about daily instruction and the organization of
students.
• The school includes parents/guardians in cultivating a culture
of high expectations for students’ learning and their consistent
support of students’ efforts.
• The school invites family participation in school activities
(e.g., volunteering in classrooms or on committees; attendance
at performances, sports events, organizational meetings) and
regularly solicits their input.
• The school offers workshops and other opportunities for
parents/guardians to learn about home practices that support
student learning.
• Educators communicate with parents/guardians about
instructional programs and students’ progress.

© 2018 SchoolWorks, LLC. All rights reserved.

leadership with words such as “they” and “their” when referencing
how goals were set and plans were developed, indicating there was a
lack of staff input.
●

School staff reported that communication is not consistent and that
they sometimes are not aware of important information. For
example, some teachers reported that they do not receive follow-up
communication after a student discipline matter. Also, teachers were
not clear about the purpose for participation in school-related events
such as the focus groups the site visit team conducted.

●

Instructional coaches indicated that they have participated in
numerous trainings to support the instructional work at the school
such as Illuminate training, WIDA ACCESS, College Board,
Renaissance (STAR), among others.

Educators collaborate regularly; however, there are inconsistencies in
how educators are using their collaboration time to learn about
effective instruction and students’ progress.
●

School leadership indicated that there are early release days once a
month; during this time, departments come together to address
department-specific issues.

●

The majority of teachers reported being a member of a PLC team. It
was unclear, however, how this time is consistently being used
across the school. Some teachers reported PLCs as being focused on
daily and unit planning. Some teachers reported using PLC time to
review data and exit tickets. Some teachers reported that
instructional coaches use this time to deliver PD.

●

Instructional coaches indicated they attend their assigned PLCs and
take on various roles, such as facilitator, participant, and observer.

●

According to instructional coaches, teachers, and school leaders, PLC
leaders have been identified and are being developed through
Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 17

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
DuFour-based district level professional learning. As well, coaches
and school leaders indicated that there will be professional learning
opportunities at the site for development of PLC leaders.
●

According to school leadership and teachers, school leaders are not
regularly and actively engaging in PLCs. School leaders reported that
instructional coaches take the lead on supporting PLCs and provide
updates regarding needs for PLCs and for teachers.

The school has yet to effectively engage the community and families in
support of students’ learning and school improvement efforts.

© 2018 SchoolWorks, LLC. All rights reserved.

●

Community members indicated that communication is made
through: direct phone dialer messages; the school phone application
that can be downloaded with real-time updates; Facebook; and the
school website. Additionally, parents reported that they are able to
communicate directly with teachers via email. However, students
reported that many parents do not know how to effectively access
the Infinite Campus parent portal.

●

Review of documents indicated that letters are sent home to families
to update them with important information from the school. As well,
letters are provided both in English and Spanish.

●

Teachers report using multiple methods of communication to discuss
student progress with parents, including letters, phone calls, and
updates to Infinite Campus (an online platform). For example,
teachers reported that they will send an F report to parents and will
not hear back from parents. Also, they will call parents regarding
attendance or behavior and will be blamed by parents. Teachers also
indicated they are expected to make three parent calls a day to
provide positive feedback to parents about students. Additionally,
they indicated they must contact parents about misbehavior to
demonstrate an effort to resolve the behavior before the student is
Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 18

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
referred due to behavior. School leadership also indicated that
Infinite Campus is checked for verification that a teacher made
intervention attempts when a student is referred for behavior.

© 2018 SchoolWorks, LLC. All rights reserved.

●

Teachers and students reported that it is challenging to get parents
to come to the school to be active participants. Students further
reported that often parents are too busy to participate.

•

The site visit team observed that the school’s marquee in the front of
the building is used to communicate with the community about
upcoming events. For example, the dates for upcoming parentteacher conferences were displayed on the marquee.

Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 19

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
SRP Evaluation based on Progress Monitoring Site Visit
State Review Panel Criteria
4. There is readiness and apparent capacity to engage productively with, and
benefit from, the assistance provided by an external partner.
4.1: The school
collaborates effectively
with existing external
partners.
4.2: The school leverages
existing partnerships to
support of student
learning.
4.3: Leadership is
responsive to feedback.

• The school seeks expertise from external partners, as
appropriate (i.e., for professional development, direct support
for students).
• The school ensures that roles and responsibilities of existing
partners are clear.
• There are designated school personnel to coordinate and
manage partnerships.
• The school maximizes existing partners’ efforts in support of
improvement efforts.
• All externally provided professional development is aligned to
improvement efforts.

Claims & Evidence
Capacity Level:

The school collaborates with existing external partners; however, the
results of these collaborative efforts are not evident in instructional
practice or improved student achievement.
●

According to the review of documents, BT was contracted to serve as
an external management partner to support ACHS, as directed in the
summer of 2017 by the State Board of Education, to provide a
comprehensive program of curriculum development, instructional
improvement, student assessment, and multi-level interventions. As a
result, staff would receive a highly structured curricular framework
focused on standards, extensive PD, observations and coaching, and
access to a wide-array of samples lessons and classroom-based
assessments.

●

The school is currently engaged with several partners that
predominantly focus on career-and-college-readiness: University of
Colorado’s CU Succeeds program; Metropolitan State University’s
Excel Program that awards $10,000 over four years for the
scholarship winner(s); Colorado State University’s CSU Alliance
Partnership that results in a $4,000 per year scholarship for any
student who graduates from ACHS; Gaining Early Awareness and
Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) that focuses on
college readiness mentoring and experiences; and Youth
Empowerment Support Services (YESS) Mentoring program funded
through the Expelled And At-Risk Student Services (EARRS) grant.

• Leadership seeks feedback on improvement plans.
• Leadership seeks feedback from key stakeholders
• Leadership integrates feedback into future improvement
efforts.

© 2018 SchoolWorks, LLC. All rights reserved.

[ ] Highly Effective [ ] Effective [ X ] Developing [ ] Not Effective

Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 20

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19

© 2018 SchoolWorks, LLC. All rights reserved.

●

According to teachers and school leaders, when provided, PD
addresses a variety of topics that are not clearly aligned to support
the implementation of BT. Additionally, school leaders reported
challenges with providing consistent professional learning due to
contractual agreements with the district union that prohibits the
school’s ability to use time they had previously planned to use for
professional learning during teacher planning time.

●

According to school and district leaders, there is no measurable
evidence to indicate the level of effectiveness on instructional
practice and student learning as a result of the partnership with BT.
Additionally, the data that BT collects during their observation visits
are focused on adherence to instructional actions, not evidence
outcomes of student learning. Most recently, BT identified the
following areas of success for ACHS: objectives; instructional
calendars; formative assessment; and alignment. These areas do not
reflect a focus on instructional practices.

●

Further, BT and school leadership indicated that observation trends
and recommendations from site-visits are provided to school leaders
and it is up to school leaders to share the information with their staff.
BT leadership indicated they would like to create structures for
communication with teachers. At this point, however, it is not clear
how the feedback from BT site-visits is shared with school staff.

●

BT indicated that they provide recommendations based on their
observation visits in which school leaders are responsible for
addressing and indicated that feedback was accepted by school
leaders.

Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 21

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
SRP Evaluation based on Progress Monitoring Site Visit
State Review Panel Criteria
5. There is likelihood of positive returns on State investments of assistance
and support to improve the performance within the current
management structure and staffing.
5.1: Leadership monitors • Leadership identifies turnaround strategies and
implements programs/initiatives designed to improve
the return on investment
student performance.
of specific improvement • Leadership assesses the cost and impact (effect on
student achievement and number of students served) of
initiatives and uses that
each program/initiative to determine its academic return
data to inform decisionon investment.
making.

5.2: Leadership has
demonstrated an ability
to produce positive
returns on State
investment and uses
resources effectively.

5.3: Students
demonstrate academic
progress over time.

• Leadership makes decisions regarding continuation or
discontinuation of programs/initiatives based on this
analysis.
• Leadership establishes systems and structures to support
regular and ongoing monitoring.
• Programs and initiatives are designed to support
turnaround efforts and have demonstrated results.
• Leadership seeks resources aligned to its improvement
efforts and programs/initiatives with high academic
return on investment.
• Any additional resources received (i.e., specialized grant
funding) are aligned, strategic, and showing evidence of
results.
• Leadership treats resources flexibly and implements
focused improvement efforts with a focus on early wins.
• Students demonstrate progress on internal measures
linked with the school’s promotion or exit standards.
• The performance of student subgroups on State
assessments demonstrates that the school is making
progress toward eliminating achievement gaps.
• Students meet proficiency and grade-level targets across
subjects and grade levels on norm-referenced benchmark
assessments and State assessments.
• Matched cohorts of students who score proficient or
advanced (or equivalent) on State assessments maintain
or improve performance levels across continuous
enrollment years.

© 2018 SchoolWorks, LLC. All rights reserved.

Claims & Evidence
Capacity Level:

[ ] Highly Effective [ ] Effective [ X ] Developing [ ] Not Effective

Leadership monitors the return on investment; however, leadership has
yet to demonstrate an ability to produce positive returns on State
investment.
●

School leadership indicated that the partnership between the school
and BT was established prior to their arrival; they have acted to address
implementation of the revised proposal.

●

The school is partnered with BT as an instructional capacity strategy to
implement recommendations from the State regarding needed
turnaround efforts.

●

According to the principal and district leadership, weekly meetings are
held between the superintendent and the principal to discuss progress of
implementation and support needed.

●

BT conducts regular site visits and provides feedback to the school and
district on implementation efforts. The school, along with the BT district
coordinator, identifies next steps for addressing matters of concern. It is
unclear, however, how the responses to these matters are being
monitored for improvement.

●

The school leadership reported that INSPIRE, a pre-collegiate program
focused on supporting Native students with access and financial support
for college, was eliminated to use the funding to reallocate toward PD.

●

School leadership indicated that the Expelled and At-Risk Student
Services (EARRS) grant was used to fund the YESS mentoring partnership.
This program supports a mentor/mentee partnership with a reciprocity
Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 22

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
• The percentage of all students performing at proficient or
advanced (or equivalent) on State assessments increases
over time.
• Students demonstrate academic growth as measured by
value-added or State growth percentile measures.
• Students demonstrate progress toward attaining
expected knowledge and skills as measured by interim
assessments.

structure for students who have previously been mentored as freshman
to have the opportunity to serve as mentors for other students during
their junior and senior year. This partnership also provides classes for
students that focus on developing social and academic skills.
●

School leadership reported that as of last year, the school was
designated as a Title I school for the first time. It is unclear, however,
how those funds have been allocated to support the school program.

Students have yet to demonstrate academic progress over time.

© 2018 SchoolWorks, LLC. All rights reserved.

●

The 2018 School Performance Framework (SPF) rating is Priority
Improvement – an increase from the 2017 rating of Turnaround. The
Unified Improvement Plan (UIP) acknowledges that, due to a low
participation rate, the SPF rating decreased in 2017 and identifies a
cause as lack of attendance. ACHS met the 95% participation rate on
their 2018 rating.

●

While the 2018 SPF rating of Priority Improvement is a level up from
Turnaround, the school remains on the state accountability clock for the
8th year.

●

The CDE School Dashboard indicates that the PSAT scores for ACHS 10th
grade students have declined and then increased over the last three year
in evidence-based reading and writing: 2016-mean scale score 412.7,
408.2 in 2017, and 415.5 in 2018. In math, scores increased and then
declined: 411.8 in 2016, 413.9 in 2017, and 398.2 in 2018. SAT scores for
ACHS 11th grade students in both evidence-based reading and writing
and math have declined from 2017 to 2018. In evidence-based reading
and writing, 446.7 in 2017, and 442.3 in 2018. In math, 2017-431.7 in
2017 and 429.6 in 2018.

●

According to the CDE School Dashboard, all PSAT and SAT scores
continue to be well below State expectations. Hispanic students on both

Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 23

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
assessments and both contents have continued to score significantly
lower than White students.

© 2018 SchoolWorks, LLC. All rights reserved.

●

The UIP indicates graduation rates and completion rates are fluctuating
from year-to-year and the 4-year (on time graduation rate) declined
from 2016 to 2017, while dropout rates declined somewhat from 2016
to 2017.

●

The UIP indicates that the school did not meet academic achievement or
academic growth goals in 2017; goals were stated, “Every student will
meet State and local expectation for academic achievement and
academic growth.” Results showed that: 9% of 9th grade students met or
exceeded State standards in ELA and 5% in math; and 3% of 10th grade
students met or exceeded the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test
(PSAT) in English and 7% on the PSAT in math. Further, 9th grade
academic growth was at 44 Median Growth Percentile (MGP) in ELA and
31.5 MGP in math; 10 grade PSAT English academic growth was at 38
MGP and 38 MGP on PSAT math.

●

The UIP provides no information regarding interim assessment results;
however, the Pathways Proposal indicates that there was data from the
STAR assessment for math in 2016 with an average percentile ranking of
44.2 in math and goals are established of 50 for 2018 and 60 for 2019.
For reading there was no score for 2016 and goals established of 45 for
2018 and of 50 for 2019. Also, there are median growth percentile scores
for math in 2016 of 49 and goals of 55 for 2018 and of 65 for 2019. There
are no median growth percentile scores for reading in 2016 and goals of
55 for 2018 and 65 for 2019. The site visit team was not provided with
data on internal measures that demonstrates progress toward school
accountability. STAR data (reading and math) was provided for the 201819 school year; however, it was benchmark data and did not give any
indication of progress to date.
Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 24

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
SRP Evaluation based on Progress Monitoring Site Visit
State Review Panel Criteria

Claims & Evidence

6. There is necessity that the school remain in operation to serve students.
6.1: The school is mission-driven
and its mission and vision meet a
unique need.

6.2 There are no other viable
options for enrolled students that
will likely lead to better outcomes.

• All stakeholders share an understanding of, and
commitment to, the mission and vision.
• School programs reflect the mission and vision.
• The mission and vision guide decisions about teaching
and learning.
• The mission and vision meet the needs of an identified
student population.
• There are limited other school options available
(e.g., online, charter, district).
• The school serves an isolated and/or remote community.
• Closure would have a significant negative impact on the
community.
• Comparison schools do not promote better student
outcomes.

[ X ] Yes [ ] No
Adams City High School is becoming a mission driven school.
●

According to the school’s website and the ACHS handbook, the
ACHS vision statement is: “Our community will collaborate to
foster an environment that builds on student’s home language
and breaks perceived cultural barriers with rigorous
programming that provides learners with the foundation they
need to answer the challenges of today and tomorrow. Adams
City High School engages scholars in activities that light up
their intelligence, ignite their imaginations, sharpen their
critical capacities, develop their consciences and expand their
opportunities to reach their fullest potential to become
college, career and community ready, in every class, every
day.”

●

When asked, school staff were not able to articulate a
consistent mission and vision for the school; however, the goal
of ensuring students have access to college was consistently
reported across groups.

●

School leadership reported that the mission of the school is to
get to 100% graduation and 95% attendance, and to ensure
students have post-secondary options. The goal of 95%
attendance, however, was referenced in alignment to test
participation rates.

There are no other viable options for the students of ACHS.
●

© 2018 SchoolWorks, LLC. All rights reserved.

Community members indicated that there are no other
schooling options locally for their students. Review of the
Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 25

 State Review Panel School Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form 2018-19
district’s website and school leaders indicate that ACHS is
where the majority of their elementary and middles school
students feed into for high school.

© 2018 SchoolWorks, LLC. All rights reserved.

●

Parents expressed a concern about a recently-approved
charter school that will be opened in the district that is planned
to serve preschool through 12th grade and what implications
the opening of the new school will have for ACHS.

●

ACHS serves approximately 1,700 students. The closest
comprehensive high schools are in other districts, making them
non-viable options for students in Adams District 14. Prairie
View High School in Brighton School District No. 27J serves
approximately 1,900 students and is 8.2 miles away. Northfield
High School in Denver Public Schools serves approximately
1,200 students and is 3.4 miles away.

●

Students indicated that if there were other options, they would
not choose another school and would stay at ACHS because it
is a family tradition, they grew up in the community with the
students with whom they go to school, and they feel they
could make an impact on their community.

●

School staff and parents indicated that attending and
graduating from ACHS is a tradition in their communities and
families, which served as the rationale for many families as to
why ACHS is their first choice. Further, parents talked about
the positive experience of being able to come back and visit
teachers. Some parents did, however, indicate that they
wished teachers would stay and stop leaving ACHS because it is
no longer how it used to be when you could come back to the
school and see your teachers.

Progress Monitoring Site Visit Feedback Form - 26

 State Review Panel Document Review
Feedback Form 2018-19
Purpose: To critically evaluate the district/school’s plan (i.e., Unified Improvement Plan) and performance. This report will be used as one element of a body of
evidence to inform actions that may be undertaken by the Commissioner of Education and the State Board of Education.
Reviewer Names: Biaze Houston, Nancy Sanger, Starla Pearson, Johan Van Nieuwenhuizen

Date: September 18, 2018

District Name/Code: Adams County 14/0030

School Name/Code: Adams City High School/0024

SRP Summary

Capacity Level:

1.

The leadership is adequate to implement change to improve results.

Developing

2.

The infrastructure is adequate to support school improvement.

Developing

3.

There is readiness and apparent capacity of personnel to plan effectively and lead the implementation of appropriate action to improve student academic
performance.

Developing

4.

There is readiness and apparent capacity to engage productively with, and benefit from, the assistance provided by an external partner.

Developing

5.

There is likelihood of positive returns on State investments of assistance and support to improve the performance within the current management
structure and staffing.

6.

There is necessity that the school/district remain in operation to serve students.

Not Effective
Yes

Based on your professional judgment, will the plan result in dramatic enough change to pull the school/district off the accountability clock if it is implemented as written?
[ X ] Yes [ ] No [ ] Not sure, more information is needed. Specify the additional information required.

Based on your professional judgment, what is your overall level of concern regarding this school/district’s ability to significantly improve results?
Level of Concern: [ X] High [ ] Moderate [ ] Low [ ] Cannot determine. Specify the additional information required.

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Overall Comments
Adams City High School (ACHS) is located in Commerce City, CO, and is the only comprehensive high school in Adams District 14. The school’s Unified Improvement Plan (UIP)
reports a student population of 1,798, with 85.9% who quality for free and reduced-priced lunch, 67.3% English language learners, 10.1% student with disabilities, and 90.4%
minority with a predominant Hispanic population. Most of the students will be the first in their families to graduate from high school and attend college. The school hired a
new school principal and four of five assistant principals in 2017. The new structure provides grade-level alignment of the leadership team accompanied by a dean and
counselor at each grade level. Further, assistant principals have been assigned specific duties and responsibilities to ensure oversight of critical aspects of instruction,
behavior, social-emotional needs, and day-to-day operations. Due to the short tenure of the majority new leadership team, it is unclear what level of measurable
effectiveness the team has been able to demonstrate. In April 2017, Adams District 14 submitted a Pathways Proposal for an External Management Partnership in an effort to
fulfill requirements of SB 163 for accreditation pertaining to schools exceeding five consecutive years of Priority Improvement and Turnaround. Within the Pathways Proposal
is the request to engage with Beyond Textbooks (BT) – an Arizona-based organization that provides systematic support and resources in the areas of curriculum, instruction,
assessment, and enrichment – and reteach resources to support school improvement. ACHS is explicitly named as one of the three focus sites for BT support. Additionally, the
school reports that they have strong programming that supports students’ overall academic and social-emotional growth; i.e., Restorative Justice practices. In addition, ACHS
has Counselors, a Restorative Justice Coordinator, Social Workers, School-Based Therapists, Psychologists, Student Success Deans, a College Readiness Dean, as well as a
school-based health clinic; these are examples of the many programs focused on supporting the Whole Child at ACHS. While the Pathways Proposal specifically identifies
these approaches and interim measurements that will be used to evaluate progress, the UIP lacks details and specificity for how these approaches and the structures being
put in place will be monitored to ensure that instructional change is occurring in order to promote student learning. The Pathways Proposal indicates that ACHS teachers and
leaders will be provided BT-facilitated professional development that is both streamlined and tailored for specific needs as it relates to implementation of BT. The processes
for monitoring effective implementation of learned practices that will take place include classroom observations and administration of Accuplacer and unit assessments.
However, it is unclear what other steps will be taken by the leadership team to engage in effective monitoring and adjusting during the implementation of BT; there are no
implementation benchmarks identified in the UIP. The area of most concern is the lack of improvement in achievement and growth of students over the past several years,
resulting in School Performance Framework (SPF) ratings that have consistently been Turnaround (2010 & 2017) and Priority Improvement (2011-2016).
Areas that should be explored more deeply through an on-site visit:
Questions to consider during the site visit:
Leadership
What has been the impact of leadership development through the Turnaround Network?
Have the bi-weekly meetings between the principal and superintendent resulted in changes or refinements to the implementation of Beyond Textbooks?
To what extent has the change in administrative structure changed results (e.g., Restorative Justice, attendance, Career Technical Education [CTE])?
Engagement
What impact has the daily reteach/extension block had on student learning?
Has advisory been effective in increasing student engagement?
How is student engagement measured?
Has there been an increase in students concurrently enrolled?
Are more students seeking Career Technical Education (CTE) credit?
How impactful are the weekly meetings with district staff?
Instruction
What impact has Beyond Textbooks had on planning? Data analysis? Student achievement?
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How are the Assistant Principals of curriculum, instruction, and counselors monitoring Beyond Textbooks data cycles in Infinite Campus? What are specific look-fors and how
is this information used to support teachers?
What is the frequency, time allocation, and structure of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and how are they supported?
How has the re-structured English Language Development (ELD) block supported English language learners?
What is the role of math, English language arts (ELA), ELD coaches, and special education coordinator?
Data
How are teams using data from Illuminate to plan instruction?
To what extent are MTSS teams functioning?
Are there data to demonstrate the impact that the daily before- and after-school 30-minute reteach/enrich blocks has had on student learning?
Are administrators and coaches conducting weekly observations to monitor implementation of professional development? What does observation data suggest about the
implementation of professional development?
To what extent do staff members understand the school’s goals?
What are the data from Advanced Placement courses?
How does the team monitor attendance, grades, and student engagement and how do they respond when data suggest intervention?
Culture and Climate
Have restorative practices decreased suspensions and referrals to law enforcement?
What has been the result of community engagement activities?
What has been the result of home visits?
Has the administrative restructure resulted in increased attendance, grades, and engagement?
Additionally, does staff deem the administrative restructure and additional leadership staff supportive to meeting their needs to do the work?
District
Is there district and/or school-based capacity to support the technological infrastructure of a 1:1 model to support BT?
What were the outcomes of contract negotiations as it pertains to identified dates for required professional development?
What are the conditions of the contract with Beyond Textbooks? What is the long-term implementation plan for capacity building?

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SRP Evaluation Based on Unified Improvement Plan and Other Available Documents
1. The leadership is adequate to implement change to improve
Capacity Level: [ ] Highly Effective [ ] Effective [ X ] Developing [ ] Not Effective [ ] Unable to Assess
results.
State Review Panel Criteria
● Leadership communicates a relentless commitment to the
1.1: Leadership
school/district turnaround.
acts as a change
● Leadership makes data-driven changes to the academic
agent to drive
dramatic
program and organization to promote dramatic achievement
achievement
gains.
gains.
● Leadership conveys clear expectations for performance
for all stakeholders, including leadership, teachers, students,
and partners.
● Leaders distribute leadership responsibilities to appropriate
individuals or groups.

Look-Fors
● Evidence of leadership
driving impactful
change. (Major Imp.
Strategies & Action Plan)

● The degree to which
leadership has been
continuous over time
or change(s) in
leadership utilized
to activate change.
(See HR data.)

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Evidence
● The State Board of Education Proposed Written Determination issued
in June 2017 recommends that the Adams 14 School District implement
the Adams 14 Pathways Proposal and an external management
agreement with Beyond Textbooks (BT) to provide a comprehensive
program of curriculum development, instructional improvement,
student assessment, and multi-level interventions. This partnership will
work to serve grades 9-10. It is noted that, due to completion of core
credits and concentration on concurrent enrollment, grades 11-12
would not participate. The Adams 14 Pathways Proposal further
describes the scope and implementation of the agreement.
● The State Board Determination references a change in leadership at
Adams City High School (ACHS) for the 2017-18 school year. The
principal is described as a “high-quality bilingual principal with
turnaround experience.” A June 2017 Chalkbeat article states that the
newly-hired principal was new to the district and had no previous
experience as a principal but had served as an assistant principal.
● The UIP and Pathways Proposal describes a “flooding” model of
support where the leadership team includes a principal and five
assistant principals (AP’s). Each AP will be responsible for a specific
area (i.e., Curriculum, Instruction, Counselors, and Attendance; English
Language Development and Attendance; Restorative Justice, Deans,
and Attendance Policy; Career Technical Education and Attendance;
and, Athletic Director and Attendance). The Pathways Proposal defines
specific responsibilities for each member of the leadership team and
includes the Organizational Chart for the school.
● The district Pathways Proposal and the UIP identify additional key
leadership positions that were established beginning in the 2017-18
school year, such as instructional coaches for math, English language
arts (ELA), and English language development (ELD); a special
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education coordinator; an ELD coordinator; and a full-time counselor
for each grade 9-12.
● On the 2018 Teaching and Learning Conditions in Colorado (TLCC)
survey, only 12% of those responding agreed that ACHS is led by an
effective team.
1.2: Leadership
establishes clear,
targeted and
measurable goals
designed to
promote student
performance.

● Leadership communicates clear and focused goals that are
understood by all staff.
● Educators understand their responsibilities for achieving
goals.
● Leadership maintains school-/district-wide focus on achieving
established goals.
● Leadership allocates resources in alignment with goals and
critical needs.
● Leadership has established systems to measure and report
interim results toward goals.

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● High, but realistic,
goals are set.
● Benchmarks are
identified throughout
the year.
● Plan and narrative
convey a sense of
urgency.
● Clear roles and
ownership of action
steps are identified.

● The UIP acknowledges the school’s performance rating as Turnaround
and only mentions the partnership with BT in the Action Plan with no
further description of the partnership or how it will function in the
school. Priority Performance Challenges are broad and lack focus; also,
trend statements do not provide trends for three years. The district
Proposal describes the partnership with BT in detail and indicates a
commitment to “…eradicate the trend of underperformance and
accelerate performance at Adams City High School.”
● The UIP provides achievement targets for the 2017-18 school year.
Targets provided were specific with both scale score goals and student
increase percentage goals for Pre-Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) and
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and growth goals for ACCESS. As well,
goals were established for student percentage increases in students
enrolled in concurrent enrollment classes earning a C+, as well as
students earning qualifying scores on Advanced Placement exams.
● The UIP identifies interim measures but does not provide a metric for
benchmarks or the frequency of the assessments. The Pathways
Proposal provides annual benchmarks for the STAR interim assessment,
but the UIP indicates that STAR is no longer being administered at
ACHS; therefore, it is unclear whether ACHS is using STAR as an interim
measure.
● The Pathways Proposal states the expected outcome of the BT
partnership to be significant increases in student achievement and that
ACHS will earn an accountability rating of Improvement or
Performance on the 2019 School Performance Framework.
● The Action Plan clearly identifies key personnel for each action step,
but the plan covers only the 2017-18 school year. Action steps are
broad and lack enough detail to determine how they will be effectively
implemented. The Action Plan does not clearly describe how the
partnership with BT will be implemented in the school.
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● Implementation benchmarks have not been identified for any of the
major improvement strategies; therefore, it is unclear how the
implementation of action steps will be monitored. However, there is a
plan for implementation monitoring of BT as indicated in the Pathways
Proposal.
1.3: Leadership
analyzes data to
identify and
address high
priority
challenges, and
to adjust
implementation
of the action
plan.

● Leadership communicates data trends and issues, ensures
timely access to data, and models and facilitates data use.
● Leadership openly shares results and holds staff accountable
for results and effective use of data.
● Leadership first concentrates on a limited number of priorities
to achieve early, visible wins.
● There is regular progress monitoring of performance and
implementation data and, as appropriate, results lead to
elimination of tactics that do not work.
● Benchmarks are used to assess progress toward goals; goals
are adjusted as progress is made.
● Data on progress toward goals drives organizational and
instructional decision making.

● Evidence that goals
are based on data re:
past performance. (See
data analysis/narrative)

● Focus on a limited
number of changes.
(See Priority Perf.
Challenges.)

● Resources are
allocated for new
programs or identified
action steps.
● Structures for sharing
and using data are
present. (See Action
Plan.)

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● The Pathways Proposal describes data that were used to determine the
priority performance challenges, root causes, and major improvement
strategies to be identified in the UIP – such as attendance, credit
audits, and grades for all grade levels; teacher performance data;
behavior/discipline data; culture and climate data of building and staff;
and parent climate, activities, and communication and involvement.
● Priority performance challenges identified in the UIP include math,
ELD, college readiness, ELA, and student engagement. Related root
causes include inconsistent outcomes and expectations for
Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), inconsistent support of
teachers and the use of research-based instructional strategies, lack of
progress monitoring on grade-level standards and implementation of
BT with fidelity, and lack of accountability systems.
● The UIP states one year of achievement and growth data. There is no
trend data provided. PSAT 9 assessments are new and there is one year
of data available. According to the School Dashboard on the CDE
website, the school performed well below the expected targets in
Evidence Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) and Mathematics.
● The UIP mentions that the school will continue the implementation
of the new formative assessments to support the new data cycle and
to be intentional with the major improvement strategy around datadriven instruction.
● The Pathways Proposal indicates that the AP assigned to Curriculum,
Instruction, and Assessment, together with the counselors, will be
responsible for monitoring the data-driven instructional cycles and
progress monitoring using data in the school’s management system,
Infinite Campus. They will use the data to assign students to daily 30minute reteach or enrichment blocks, and before- or after-school
tutoring sessions (Note: The exact time allocation is unclear; there is
a time allocation of 45 minutes identified later in the proposal).
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1.4: Leadership
establishes high
expectations for
student learning
and behavior.

● The school/district holds high expectations for academic
learning.
● Educators set high expectations for learning and clearly
convey these to students.
● Educators convey that students are responsible for raising
their performance and encourage their participation in
learning.
● The school/district provides a safe environment to support
students’ learning and, in the case of a virtual school, ensures
that students’ interactions between and among themselves
and school staff are respectful and supportive.
● Leadership ensures that the school’s physical environment is
clean, orderly, and safe.

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● Elements of climate
and culture are
identified and
addressed in the
plan(s). (See Data
Narrative, Root Cause
Analysis, Action Plan,
TELL data.)

● The UIP identifies Culture and Climate as one root cause and states,
“The school does not consistently function as an effective learning
community and does not fully support a climate conducive to
performance excellence for students and staff.” Culture and Climate
are identified as a major improvement strategy with the description
that the school will continue to engage in culturally responsive and
equity-based practices. The action steps identify community
engagement activities, culturally responsive behavioral interventions
and supports, and home visits to implement the strategy. It is unclear,
however, what specific actions will be made to address
implementation of the identified strategies.
● The UIP describes programming to improve student culture, including
Restorative Practices, Positive Behavior Intervention System (PBIS), as
well as four full-time counselors, two social workers, two school-based
therapists, three deans, and a school-based health clinic.
● The UIP notes student attendance as a cause for lower participation on
the Colorado Measure of Academic Success (CMAS), which contributed
to a decline in performance. The new administrative structure includes
attendance as a key component of each assistant principal’s (AP’s) role;
however, the UIP does not include attendance data and does not
indicate specific attendance goals. Further, the actions related to
improving attendance in the UIP only include ‘discussion with students’
as a strategy for improving attendance. However, the Pathways
Proposal indicates the AP over attendance will be revisiting,
restructuring, and monitoring implementation of the district’s
attendance policy. Further, each AP, dean, and counselor will use the
district’s dashboard to monitor attendance on a weekly basis and the
MTSS team will use the data and menu of research-based strategies to
support students and parents identified at different levels of risk based
on attendance. Additionally, targets are indicated in the Pathways
Proposal for attendance with goals for 90% in 2018 and 94% in 2019,
and truancy rates to decrease to 6% in 2018 and 3% in 2019.
● The UIP also describes a focus on college-and-career-readiness and the
district Pathways Proposal describes a variety of career and technology
options, which are primarily available to 11th and 12th grade students,
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as well as concurrent enrollment options; it states that many students
will graduate with an immediately employable skill. Additionally, the
UIP indicates 11 Advanced Placement classes are available to students.

2. The infrastructure is adequate to support school improvement.
State Review Panel Criteria
● The district/superintendent ensures ongoing leadership
2.1: The district leads
development for emerging and current school leaders
intentional, strategic
with a focus on building leadership capacity to lead
efforts to ensure the
effectiveness of the
turnaround efforts and sustain improvement.
academic program
● The district/superintendent provides adequate
and the sustainability
oversight in schools’ work to deliver the curriculum,
of the organization.
monitors instruction on a regular basis, and provides

Capacity Level: [ ] Highly Effective [ ] Effective [ X ] Developing [ ] Not Effective [ ] Unable to Assess

Look-Fors
● Evidence of district
involvement. (See Data
Narrative, Action Plan.)

adequate support and feedback to principals to
improve instruction.
● The district provides adequate systems by which to
capture and store data, report it to schools, and make it
accessible for instructional staff to utilize.

2.2: Leadership has a
strong focus on
recruiting and
retaining talent;
creates and
implements systems
to select, develop,
and retain effective
teachers and staff
who can drive
dramatic student
gains; evaluates all
staff; and dismisses

● Leadership has created and/or implemented an
organizational and staffing structure that will drive
dramatic student gains.
● Leadership recruits and hires teachers with
commitment to, and competence in, the school’s
philosophy, design, and instructional framework (e.g.,
trained and experienced with curriculum, certified/
licensed to teach, qualified in subject area).
● Trained mentors provide beginning teachers with
sustained, job-embedded induction.
● Leadership ensures the evaluation of all staff and
dismisses those who do not meet standards and

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● Indication of strategic
staff changes,
particularly at the
supervisory level, to
support dramatic
improvement efforts.
(See HR data.)

● Evidence of
professional
development activities
aligned to priorities.

Evidence
● As previously stated, according to the UIP and Pathways Proposal,
the district entered into a partnership with an external management
partner, BT, to implement an instructional framework to support
grades 9-10.
● The Pathways Proposal makes clear that the district intends to provide
leadership and oversight in the implementation of the BT partnership.
It indicates that a Secondary Education Director will provide direct
supervision of the leadership team at ACHS and work collaboratively
with the BT liaison who will be monitoring implementation.
● The Pathways Proposal indicates that the Superintendent will engage in
regular implementation monitoring meetings with various partners and
stakeholders. The Superintendent will meet bi-weekly with the principal
to discuss the successes and challenges with the implementation of the
BT platform; weekly for the first six months and monthly thereafter with
the CDE liaison; monthly with the CDE liaison and BT CEO/Director;
monthly with the local Board of Education; annually with the State
Board of Education; weekly with the district BT liaison; and every three
weeks with the BT liaison and BT CEO Director.
● Both the Pathways Proposal and the UIP describe specific professional
development activities to take place during the 2017-18 school year and
to be provided by BT. The Pathways Proposal indicates that professional
development will focus on the curriculum calendar, instructional
support, common assessments, and reteaching/enrichment. In addition,
the UIP describes a plan to use professional development to strengthen
the data inquiry cycle and a plan for professional learning communities
to implement backwards design. It is unclear, however, how the learning
will be monitored for use and implementation beyond classroom
observations.

(See Data Narrative,
Action Plan, TELL data.)

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those who do not
meet professional
standards and
expectations.

2.3: Leadership
ensures that the
school/district has
sound financial and
operational systems
and processes

expectations.

● In responding to the 2018 TLCC survey, ACHS teachers identified their
greatest needs for professional development in the areas of
differentiating instruction and social-emotional learning. Only 39%
agreed that the professional learning they were receiving had a positive
effect on teaching and learning in their classrooms.
● In responding to the 2018 TLCC survey, 88% of new teachers at ACHS
(approximately 33% of total respondents) agreed that they meet with
mentor teachers to a great or moderate extent weekly; only 20% felt
that they received adequate support as a new teacher.
● The Pathways Proposal lists one of the district’s goals in the Turnaround
Plan as follows: “Develop, retain and sustain highly qualified school
leaders and teachers.” The plan also indicates that the principal/teacher
induction program and the mentor/mentee program has been
restructured.
● 12% of ACHS respondents to the 2018 TLCC survey agreed that the
effectiveness of professional development is assessed regularly;
18% agreed that they receive adequate professional development
to effectively use data.
● A Major Improvement Strategy action step in the UIP indicates that
administrators and coaches conduct weekly classroom observations to
monitor the implementation of professional development.

● Leadership provides teachers with active, intense, and

sustained professional development (PD), including
guidance on data analysis and instructional practice,
aligned to school improvement efforts.
o PD is informed by ongoing analysis of student
performance, instructional data, and educators’
learning needs.
o PD requires teachers to demonstrate their learned
competency in a tangible and accessible way.
o PD engages teachers in active learning (e.g., leading
instruction, discussing with colleagues, observing
others, developing assessments), and provides
follow-up sessions and ongoing support for
teachers’ continued learning.
● The quality of professional development delivery is
regularly monitored, evaluated, and improved.

● Leadership ensures that the organizational structure
supports essential functions; roles and responsibilities
of all staff are clear.
● Leadership has established effective means of
communicating with staff.
● Leadership ensures that the school/district meets all
compliance requirements and deadlines set by the
State, including the submission of school improvement
plans, financial statements, school audit, calendar, and
student attendance.
● Leadership effectively manages the budget and cash
flow, and there is a plan for long-term financial
sustainability.
● Leadership effectively manages operations (e.g., food
services, transportation, school facilities).

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● Evidence of school
communication with
staff. (See Data
Narrative, Target Setting,
Action Plan, TELL data.)

● Record of compliance.

● The ACHS organizational chart as outlined in the Pathways Proposal lists
the roles and responsibilities for each member of the leadership team
and assigns specific duties for supervising instructional coaches,
attending PLCs, monitoring data, and overseeing curriculum and
instruction, including with BT.
● The Pathways Proposal states that each AP will be responsible for a
specific area (i.e., Curriculum, Instruction, Counselors, and Attendance;
English Language Development and Attendance; Restorative Justice,
Deans, and Attendance Policy; Career Technical Education and
Attendance; and, Athletic Director and Attendance).
● The Pathways Proposal also states that the AP assigned to attendance
will be charged with revisiting, restructuring, and monitoring
implementation of the district’s attendance policy in collaboration with
assistant principals, counselors, and deans assigned to each grade level.
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Each assistant principal, dean, and counselor will use the district’s
dashboard to monitor attendance for their assigned grade level on a
weekly basis.
2.4: Leadership
provides effective
instructional
leadership.

2.5: The school/
district provides highquality instruction.

● Leaders ensure that the school implements a coherent,
comprehensive, and aligned curriculum.
o Leaders ensure that curriculum, instruction, and
assessments are aligned with state standards, each
other, and coordinated within/across grade levels.
o Leaders ensure that instructional materials are
selected and/or developed in accordance with a
school-wide instructional framework and aligned
with established curriculum standards.
o Leaders ensure the curriculum is periodically
reviewed and revisions are made accordingly.
● Leaders provide meaningful feedback on teachers’
instructional planning and practice.
o Leaders regularly provide meaningful feedback on
instructional planning.
o Leaders regularly observe instruction and provide
meaningful, timely feedback that helps teachers
improve their practice.
● Leaders provide conditions that support a school-wide
data culture.
o Teachers have easy access to varied, current, and
accurate student and instructional data.
o Teachers are provided time to collect, enter, analyze,
represent student data & use tools to act on results.
● Leaders ensure that all teachers receive PD in data use
(e.g., how to access, read, and interpret a range of
data reports; frame questions for inquiry; analyze
data, assessment literacy; use data tools and
resources).

● Instructional needs
and associated
curricula and
assessments are
identified as a
mechanism to address
performance needs.

n/a

● Not possible to assess
from Document
Review alone.

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(See Action Plan.)

● Organizational
routines are
established that
include ongoing data
analysis to improve
student learning.
(Evidence of interim
measures and how
they will be used to
monitor results.) (See
Data Narrative, Target
Setting, Action Plan, TELL
data.)

● Standards and Instructional Planning are identified as a Major
Improvement Strategy in the UIP. The Pathways Proposal indicates that
a major focus of the BT partnership will be rigorous curriculum and
instruction and progress monitoring of standards mastery. It states that
the district has not consistently implemented curriculum that is aligned
to Colorado Academic Standards and does not yet ensure rigorous,
effective instructional planning.
● Both the Pathways Proposal and the UIP indicate that classroom
walkthroughs will be conducted, including three per semester by the BT
liaison and monthly by the secondary school director. On the 2018 TLCC
survey, 27% of teachers agreed that they receive useful informal
feedback to improve their instruction.
● On the 2018 TLCC survey, 88% of teachers agreed that they use
formative assessment data to improve student learning. The UIP
identifies professional learning communities (PLC) as using a data
inquiry cycle to drive researched-based instructional practices, but also
identifies the PLC system as a root cause of performance issues and
describes “…inconsistent outcomes and expectations for Professional
Learning Communities using the data inquiry cycle to drive research
based instructional practices.” Both the Pathways Proposal and the UIP
identify professional development to be provided to teachers and
administrators to strengthen the Data Inquiry Cycle, as well as
administrator data analysis.

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3. There is readiness and apparent capacity of personnel to plan
effectively and lead the implementation of appropriate action
to improve student academic performance.
State Review Panel Criteria
n/a
3.1: Educators’
mindsets and beliefs
reflect shared
commitments to
students’ learning.
● Communications among all stakeholder groups are
3.2: The school/
constructive, supportive, and respectful.
district has established
● Communications between leadership and staff are
conditions that
support educators’
fluid, frequent, and open.
learning culture.
● Leaders model and convey well-defined beliefs about
teaching and learning, and convey value for
innovation, learning from mistakes, and risk-taking.
● Leaders ensure that staff and team meeting
discussions are structured and facilitated to support
the staff’s reflective dialogue around data and
instruction (e.g., attend to explicit group norms, use
protocols).
● Leaders provide guidance to teacher teams (e.g., help
to establish meeting routines; model and promote use
of discussion protocols; ensure systematic monitoring
of student progress; create focus on linking results to
instruction) and ensures that teachers utilize tools and
time well.
● Leaders participate in formal and informal
professional learning, including their own leadership
development about how to improve curriculum and
instruction in a leadership context (i.e., elementary or
secondary; high- or low-poverty; large/small schools).

3.3: Educators
collaborate regularly
to learn about
effective instruction
and students’

● Educators meet frequently during regularly scheduled,
uninterrupted times (e.g., staff, department, grade
level meeting times) to collaborate, establish
improvement goals, and make data-informed

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Capacity Level: [ ] Highly Effective [ ] Effective [ X] Developing [ ] Not Effective [ ] Unable to Assess

Look-Fors

Evidence

● Not possible to assess
from Document
Review alone.

● Evidence of
development for
leaders. (See Action
Plan.)

● Structures for
collaborative activities
are present. (See Action
Plan, TELL data.)

● Roles are dedicated to
supporting teams of
teachers. (See Action
Plan, TELL data.)

● Communication
structures are
referenced. (See Data
Narrative, Action Plan,
TELL data.)

● Collaborative meeting
times and their
purposes are
referenced. (See Data
Narrative, Action Plan,

● The Pathway Proposal states that the district provides bi-weekly
principals’ meetings with district leadership, district professional
development and observation of instructional practices with district
consultants, as well as district principal PLC time for planning and
collaboration. It is unclear, however, if this is systemic across the district
or only for schools that are part of district turnaround strategy
initiatives.
● As previously stated, the ACHS organizational chart as outlined in the
Pathways Proposal lists the roles and responsibilities for each member
of the leadership team and assigns specific duties for supervising
instructional coaches, attending PLCs, monitoring data, and overseeing
curriculum and instruction, including with BT.
● The impact of the instructional coaches is somewhat limited according
to the TLCC survey results. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of teachers agree
that professional learning that includes instructional coaching, PLCs,
and training has a positive impact on teaching and learning in the
classroom. Teachers also indicated that not everyone receives support
and coaching (24%).
● According to the TLCC survey, only twenty-seven percent (27%) of the
teachers agree that they are provided with feedback to improve their
instruction.
● Twenty-three percent (23%) of ACHS respondents to the 2018 TLCC
survey agreed that there is a process for collaborative problem solving
at the school; sixty-five percent (65%) agreed that staff “consistently
seek new and improved ways of providing instruction.” Forty percent
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progress.

instructional decisions.
● Educators‘ collaborative meetings have a clear and
persistent focus on improving student learning and
achievement.
● Educators describe sharing knowledge and expertise
among colleagues as essential collaborative activity
for job success.
● Teachers are willing to talk about their own
instructional practice, to actively pursue and accept
feedback from colleagues, and to try new teaching
strategies.
● The school has created a performance-driven
classroom culture in which teachers effectively use
data to make decisions about daily instruction and the
organization of students.

3.4: The school/
district engages the
community and
families in support of
students’ learning
school improvement
efforts.

● The school includes parents/guardians in cultivating a
culture of high expectations for students’ learning and
their consistent support of students’ efforts.
● The school/district invites family participation in
school activities (e.g., volunteering in classrooms or
on committees; attendance at performances, sports
events, and organizational meetings) and regularly
solicits their input.
● The school/district offers workshops and other
opportunities for parents/guardians to learn about
home practices that support student learning.
● Educators communicate with parents/guardians
about instructional programs and students’ progress.

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TELL data.)

● Strategies for
community and family
involvement are
incorporated
throughout the plan.
● Parent Involvement
Plan is present (for
Title I Schools only)
and details strategies
for involving families
to advance student
learning.

(40%) of respondents agreed that the school provided opportunities for
them to learn from other teachers.
● Both the Pathways Proposal and the UIP refer often to the PLC
structure; however, the UIP cites as a root cause the “…inconsistent
outcomes and expectations for Professional Learning Communities.”
The Action Plan lists an action step toward implementing the Major
Improvement Strategy-Professional Development as PLCs using
backwards design, but there is no further explanation of specifics for
what and how it will be implemented.
● The Pathways Proposal indicates that one professional development
session to be delivered in Spring 2018 was “Utilizing PLC to build
Assessment and Data Literacy among teachers and leaders.” The
Proposal further explains the BT instructional cycle that includes
teachers meeting in a PLC to review data from each instructional cycle’s
common formative assessments and plan for enrichment and reteach
sections.
● The UIP includes an action step toward implementation of the Major
Improvement Strategy-Culture and Climate as providing training to staff
to encourage them to conduct home visits to support student
achievement.
● Additionally, the UIP identifies an action of increasing community
engagement activities; however, it is unclear what types of activities
will be created to engage the community.
● Thirty-eight percent (38%) of respondents to the 2018 TLCC survey
agreed that the community is supportive of the school and eleven
percent (11%) agreed that the school’s efforts to engage families are
successful.
● According to the ACHS website, various events are held to support
parent involvement, such as Parent Information Nights and Senior
Parent Night. Also, communications are sent home to families to
provide important information, such as a letter about the recent School
Performance Framework rating and a principal’s message letter. Also,
upcoming events are posted on the website and there is a school
Facebook page and district mobile app.
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4. There is readiness and apparent capacity to engage productively
with, and benefit from, the assistance provided by an external
partner.
State Review Panel Criteria
● The school/district seeks expertise from external
4.1: The school/
partners, as appropriate (i.e., for professional
district collaborates
development, direct support for students).
effectively with
existing external
● The school/district ensures that roles and
partners.
responsibilities of existing partners are clear.
● There are designated personnel to coordinate
and manage partnerships.

Capacity Level: [ ] Highly Effective [ ] Effective [ X ] Developing [ ] Not Effective [ ] Unable to Assess

Look-Fors
● Articulation of
roles/responsibilities
with external entities
(e.g., district level
staff, BOCES staff,
vendors, CDE) is
evident. (See Action
Plan.)

4.2: The school/
district leverages
existing partnerships
to support student
learning.

● The school/district maximizes existing partners’
efforts in support of improvement efforts.
● All externally provided professional development is
aligned to improvement efforts.

● Activities of external
entities align with
major improvement
strategies and
performance needs of
the school/district (not
just a list of services
the entity provides).

4.3: Leadership is
responsive to
feedback.

● Leadership seeks feedback on improvement plans.
● Leadership seeks feedback from key stakeholders
● Leadership integrates feedback into future
improvement efforts.

● Feedback from CDE on
UIP is integrated into
subsequent UIPs
(i.e., feedback is not
repeated for multiple
years). (See CDE

Evidence
● The Pathway Proposal clearly outlines the roles and responsibilities of BT,
the district, and the school in the partnership agreement. In addition, the
school organizational chart assigns on assistant principal to act as the
contact for the BT liaison. The Proposal states, “The school will receive
support with curriculum, instruction, assessment, and enrichment/
reteach support in a manner that will be frequent, intense, and
targeted.”
● The UIP identifies concurrent enrollment partners such as CU (University
of Colorado) Succeeds, Community College of Denver, Adams
Community College, and Metro State University.
● The Pathways Proposal indicates that professional development will be
provided to teachers and school and district leaders throughout the year
to support in the implementation of BT. Professional learning will include
both “for-everybody” sessions, as well as customized offerings designed
to progress monitor implementation. Also, classroom walkthroughs will
be conducted to observe for implementation.

(See Action Plan.)

● Review of the 2017 feedback on the 2016-17 UIP indicates that feedback
from CDE was not integrated into the 2017-18 UIP; many of the same
issues continue – for example, major improvement strategies continue to
be only repeat root causes, trend statements refer to only one year of
data, and the action steps continue to lack sufficient detail.

feedback, previous UIPs,
updated UIPs, TELL data.)

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5. There is likelihood of positive returns on State investments of
assistance and support to improve the performance within the
current management structure and staffing.
State Review Panel Criteria
● Leadership identifies turnaround strategies and
5.1: Leadership
implements programs/initiatives designed to improve
monitors the return on
student performance.
investment of specific
improvement initiatives ● Leadership assesses the cost and impact (effect on
and uses that data to
student achievement and number of students served)
inform decisionof each program/initiative to determine its academic
making.
return on investment.
● Leadership makes decisions regarding continuation or
discontinuation of programs/initiatives based on this
analysis.
● Leadership establishes systems and structures to
support regular and ongoing monitoring.

Capacity Level: [ ] Highly Effective [ ] Effective [ ] Developing [ X ] Not Effective [ ] Unable to Assess

Look-Fors
● Additional resources
provided through
specialized grant
funding are aligned,
strategic and show
evidence of positive
results. (for districts/
schools that have
received additional
funds.) (See Action
Plan.)

5.2: Leadership has
demonstrated an ability
to produce positive
returns on State
investment and uses
resources effectively.

● Programs and initiatives are designed to support
turnaround efforts and have demonstrated results.
● Leadership seeks resources aligned to its
improvement efforts and programs/initiatives with
high academic return on investment.
● Any additional resources received (i.e., specialized
grant funding) are aligned, strategic, and showing
evidence of results.
● Leadership treats resources flexibly and implements
focused improvement efforts with a focus on early
wins.

● Evidence of the results
of previous initiatives.

5.3: Students
demonstrate academic
progress over time.

● Students demonstrate progress on internal measures
linked with the school/district’s promotion or exit
standards.
● The performance of student subgroups on State
assessments demonstrates that the school/district is
making progress toward eliminating achievement
gaps.
● Students meet proficiency and grade-level targets
across subjects and grade levels on norm-referenced
benchmark assessments and State assessments.
● Matched cohorts of students who score proficient or

● Achievement and
growth data trend up.

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Evidence
● The Action Plan lists only General Funds as resources for all action
steps except those involving BT, which are listed as District Funds. The
UIP does not indicate additional grant funds.
● The Proposal indicates frequent opportunities in which school and
district leadership will be involved in monitoring the implementation
of BT.
● The UIP lacks implementation benchmarks; therefore, it is unclear how
school leadership will monitor for effective and responsive
implementation.

(See Data Narrative,
Target Setting, data
dashboard, TELL data.)

(See Data Narrative,
Target Setting, data
dashboard.)

● Results of interim
assessments show
progress. (See Data
Narrative, Target
Setting.)

● The district website has a link to Financial Transparency for each school
site; however, the most recent information is from 2016 and the
document does not display useful or understandable financial
information that indicates how funds are used or monitored.

● The CDE School Dashboard indicates that the PSAT scores for ACHS
10th grade students have declined and then increased over the last
three years in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 2016-mean scale
score 412.7, 2017-408.2, and 2018-415.5. In Math, scores increased
and then declined: 2016-411.8, 2017-413.9, 2018-398.2. SAT scores for
ACHS 11th grade students in both Evidence-Based Reading and Writing
and Math have declined from 2017 to 2018. In Evidence-Based Reading
and Writing, 2017-446.7, 2018-442.3. In Math, 2017-431.7, 2018-429.6.
● According to the CDE School Dashboard, all PSAT and SAT scores
continue to be well below State expectations. Hispanic students have
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Feedback Form 2018-19
advanced (or equivalent) on State assessments
maintain or improve performance levels across
continuous enrollment years.
● The percentage of all students performing at
proficient or advanced (or equivalent) on State
assessments increases over time.
● Students demonstrate academic growth as measured
by value-added or State growth percentile measures.
● Students demonstrate progress toward attaining
expected knowledge and skills as measured by
interim assessments.

●

●

●

●

●

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continued to score significantly lower than White students on both
assessments and both content areas.
The CDE School Dashboard indicates median growth percentiles for
SAT in all content areas have continued to be below State expectations
but showed some slight growth in 2018 for All Students in EvidenceBased Reading and Writing.
The UIP indicates graduation rates and completion rates are fluctuating
from year-to-year and the 4-year (on time graduation rate) declined
from 2016 to 2017, while dropout rates declined somewhat in 2016-17.
The UIP indicates that the school did not meet academic achievement
or academic growth goals in 2017; goals were stated as, “Every student
will meet State and local expectation for academic achievement and
academic growth.” Results showed that 9% of 9th grade students met
or exceeded State standards in ELA and 5% in math; 3% of 10th grade
students met or exceeded PSAT English and 7% on PSAT math. Further,
9th grade student academic growth was at 44 median growth
percentile (MGP) in ELA and 31.5 MGP in math; 10 grade PSAT English
academic growth was at 38 MGP and 38 MGP on PSAT math.
The UIP acknowledges a SPF rating decrease due to a low participation
rate and identifies a cause as “attendance.” The corresponding actions
indicate that the school will hold discussions on the importance of
attendance and discussions on the significance of individual
performance on mandated assessments and the impact the
assessments have on education.
The UIP provides no information regarding interim assessment results;
however, the Pathways Proposal indicates that there was data from
the STAR assessment for Math in 2016 with an average percentile
ranking of 44.2 in Math; goals are established of 50 for 2018 and 60 for
2019. For Reading there was no score for 2016 and goals of 45 for 2018
and of 50 for 2019 were established. Also, there are median growth
percentile scores for Math in 2016 of 49 and goals of 55 for 2018 and
of 65 for 2019. There are no median growth percentile scores for
Reading in 2016 and goals of 55 for 2018 and 65 for 2019.

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6. There is necessity that the school/district remain in operation to
serve students.
State Review Panel Criteria
● All stakeholders share an understanding of, and
6.1: The school/
commitment to, the mission and vision.
district is mission● School/district programs reflect the mission and vision.
driven and its
mission and vision
● The mission and vision guide decisions about teaching
meet a unique need.
and learning.
● The mission and vision meet the needs of an identified
student population.

[ X ] Yes [ ] No [ ] Unable to Assess
Look-Fors
● Population of students
served is clearly
identified. (See Data
Narrative.)

● Mission/vision are
evident in plan or
publicly available
information. (See
website, Data Narrative.)

6.2: There are
no other viable
options for enrolled
students that will
likely
lead to better
outcomes.

● There are limited other school/district options available
(e.g., online, charter, district).
● The school serves an isolated and/or remote community.
● Closure would have a significant negative impact on the
community.
● Comparison schools do not promote better student
outcomes.

● Number of other
available district,
online, or charter
options and their
performance. (See data
dashboard, Websites.)

● Performance of
neighboring districts.
(See data dashboard,
Websites.)

● Performance of
comparison schools.
(See data dashboard,

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Evidence
● The data narrative of the UIP describes the student population as
1,798, with 85.9% who quality for free and reduced-priced lunch,
67.3% English language learners, 10.1% student with disabilities, and
90.4% minority with a predominant Hispanic population.
● The enrollment data on the School Dashboard on the website indicates
that enrollment has been increasing slightly over the last 5 years from
1,749 to 1,798. The free and reduced-priced lunch eligible student
population increased significantly from 67.1% in 2014-2015 to 85.9% in
2017-2018.
● The UIP does not include a mission/vision statement, but the ACHS
vision statement is included on the school website. It is: “Our
community will collaborate to foster an environment that builds on
student’s home language and breaks perceived cultural barriers with
rigorous programming that provides learners with the foundation they
need to answer the challenges of today and tomorrow. Adams City
High School engages scholars in activities that light up their
intelligence, ignite their imaginations, sharpen their critical capacities,
develop their consciences and expand their opportunities to reach their
fullest potential to become college, career and community ready, in
every class, every day.”
● While an article in Chalkbeat on 6/21/18 reported a KIPP charter school
proposal for a P-12 school located in Adams 14, the school is not set to
open until 2019 and does not currently serve as another high school
option. Lester Arnold High School is the only other high school in the
district, but this school serves a much smaller student population of
239 students, according to the district Background Information report
from 2016.
● School closure is not a viable option because the district does not have
the capacity to serve ACHS students in the remaining schools.
According to the Adams 14 District site, ACHS is the only
comprehensive high school in the district. There is one other high
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Websites.)

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school that is non-traditional and serves less than 250 students and the
remaining schools, which are not high school leveled, are
approximately 6% above capacity.
● There are no other viable high school options within the Adams 14
district given the size of Lester Arnold. There are six other high schools
located within 10 miles of Adams City High School in two other school
districts. Four are performing at or above State expectations; however,
it is unlikely that any would be able to effectively serve all students
from ACHS.

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